2014 Country Chess Championship

31 players descended on the Girl Guides Hall in Geelong for the 2014 Victorian Country Chess Championship – this was the largest turnout in several years, with numbers boosted by a large contingent of Geelong players.

Top seed was FIDE Master, Simon Rutherford, who was playing in the tournament for the first time.

There were some interesting moments in Round 1, with at least one player having to take time out of his game to move his car to avoid a parking fine.

Over the board, there were a number of minor upsets, with Rod Jacobs using the Morra Gambit to hold second seed Stewart Booth to a draw, and solid play from Reza Daneshvar, Ben Kersten and Alexander Harris also holding their higher rated opponents to a draw.

Simon Rutherford, right, contemplates his next move against Kevin Perrin, while Rod Jacobs challenges Stewart Booth with the Morra gambit.

Bjorn Lategan (left) causes headaches for Joel Beggs, while Anna Yates takes on Max Mollard. Patrick Cook seems more interested in the newspaper than his game, while Alistair Anderson looks on as Andrew Wemyss takes on the youngest player in the tournament, Sasha Jacobs.

Alex Harris takes on Leigh Healey, while Chris Schulz looks on from the next board.

Round 2 saw most games go to the higher rated players, with the exceptions being Rod Jacobs continuing his good form with a win over Leigh Healey, while Max Mollard held Khosrou Gahfouri to a draw. The last game to finish saw Andrew Wemyss perhaps a little unfortunate not to be able to hold Nigel Barrow to a draw.

Round 3 saw Simon Rutherford challenged by Alistair Anderson, with Anderson perhaps a little unfortunate to not hold the top seed to a draw, whilst in contrast on board 2, Nigel Barrow, at one point two pawns down, appeared to be extremely lucky to escape with a draw against Mark Bruere.

Round 3 was followed by the traditional, social pizza & pavlova dinner, ably organized by Ben and Fiona Kersten.

Players relax after three hard fought rounds and enjoy a meal together.

Round 4 saw the much awaited clash of the top two seeds, with Simon Rutherford emerging victorious in the endgame against Stewart Booth. Anandram Jothibabu from Shepparton continued his good form, defeating Khosrou Ghafouri.

The last game to finish was a topsy-turvy game between Nigel Barrow and Reza Daneshvar, which looked like one player was winning easily with a passed pawn, until the other countered with a passed pawn of his own, and then looked like he was winning easily. With both players in time pressure, White conjured threats of a mating net, and the game eventually simplified into a theoretically drawn rook and pawn endgame.

Simon Rutherford went into the last round with a half point lead over his nearest rival, Geoffrey Gill, with a number of players a full point behind - it would be up to former champion Mark Bruere to halt Rutherford’s run.
Rutherford (right) versus Mark Bruere, while Geoffrey Gill plays Michael Sugrue on board 2.

Bruere played well enough to hold Rutherford to a draw, however Geoffrey Gill could not overcome Michael Sugrue on board 2, which meant Rutherford won the tournament outright. Stewart Booth defeated Kevin Perrin to tie with Gill for equal second.

Anandram Jothibabu and Mio Ristic both topped off their good tournaments with victories in the last round to tie for equal first in the Reserves.

The final game to finish once again involved Nigel Barrow, this time against Alistair Anderson. Anderson looked to be in trouble at one stage, but in mutual time pressure, and with inexact play from both players, managed to generate chances with an outside passed pawn.

The final position saw Barrow with a Bishop and three pawns against two knights and a pawn. Whilst there may still have been winning chances, both sides agreed to a draw to conclude the tournament.

Simon Rutherford holds the winner’s trophy while Kevin Perrin reaches over to award the champagne.
Anandram Jothibabu (left) and Mio Ristic share the honours for the Reserves Trophy.

Blurry group photo with Sasha and Rod Jacobs holding the trophies – but where’s Ken Czucman?